But are we getting value for money?
The Federal Government is on a roll with state-based infrastructure deal announcements, with $810M for SA in February and another $250M for the ACT last week.
✅This is a big acknowledgement that you can’t build homes without first solving for the boring stuff: powerlines, water, earthworks etc. Industry has advocated for fixing missing infrastructure gaps for years.
The cost details are interesting when comparing projects:
📍 Kingston Arts Precinct: $37.5M for 75 homes. $500k per dwelling just for supporting infrastructure.
📍 Deep Creek (Molonglo Valley): $20M for water infrastructure supporting 65 homes. That’s $307k each.
📍 Ginninderry (Landfill Capping): $30M for 86 homes. That’s $348k per house.
📍$100M for general enabling works across the ACT for 537 homes, $186k each.
Remember, these are only part of the necessary works. Not all the infrastructure, no land cost, no buildings.
These figures are eye-watering. If the "enabling" cost for a single apartment in Kingston or lot in Ginninderry costs the taxpayer $300k to $500k before a footing is poured, we have a profound investment allocation problem.
Contrast this with some of the greenfield numbers from SA: 📍$300M loan to unlock water infrastructure for 4,000 lots ($75k/dwelling) 📍$184M loan for 1,700 dwellings across renewal projects ($108k/lot)
You can see where the better bang for buck lies – oh, and these are being (at least partially) repaid.
This again proves that the cost of enabling infrastructure is materially higher in infill areas, let alone more expensive land and much higher building costs. It puts to bed any notion that developing infill areas with high-density is an infrastructure free kick, as many boffins like to claim in theory.
We also need to stop talking in "total package" $millions and billions, and start talking in "cost per enabled house." Only then can we have an honest conversation about #housingsupply and #feasibility in 2026.
🤔It’s great to see the Commonwealth footing the bill for some of these infrastructure hurdles, but these per-dwelling costs suggest we are a long way from a scalable solution for density. Are we allocating capital where it produces the most roofs for the least spend?